watch our live, unfiltered coverage of the government's response with re-things from the white house, congress, governors, and mayors from across the nation, updating the situation. plus, efforts addressing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and campaign 2020. join in the conversation every day on our live call-in program, "washington journal." if you miss any of our live coverage, watch anytime on demand on c-span.org or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. >> secretary of state mike pompeo announced a new executive order and actions taken against the international criminal court for what he described as a record of botched prosecutions and poor judgments. this comes after the icc launched an investigation into whether u.s. forces committed war crimes in afghanistan. this is a portion of the secretary of state's remarks.

>> good morning. thank you for joining us. here is a scenario i think about a lot. imagine soldiers or intelligence officers on leave with family, and over the course of two decades or more the soldier honorably defended america. then suddenly that vacation turns into a nightmare. the european countries national police takes the soldier into custody, detaining him or her on

politically motivated charges, a prison sentence abroad is a distinct possibility. a spouse behind bars for defending freedom, a son or daughter robbed of their mom or dad, all on the initiative of a prosecutor in the netherlands. making sure this does not happen is the essence of american first foreign policy. sadly, this is not a hypothetical. it could become reality if the international court follows through with their crusade against american service members. many of you might recall in november of 2017, the courts office of the prosecutor announced intentions to investigate our brave warriors for alleged crimes arising from counterterrorism missions in afghanistan. it was not a prosecution of justice, it was a persecution of americans. prosecution were to proceed, it would make a mockery of due process.

there is no requirement for unanimously -- unanimity for a conviction. at the prosecution can rely on hearsay to obtain a conviction. there is no real guarantee of a speedy trial. instead of facing a jury of one's peers, it is a panel of judges who are not subject to any american accountability. the way that aed responsible nation must, by condemning the investigation, by suspending cooperation with the tort, and denying visas those most directly responsible for going after our personnel. we welcomed growing criticism and cause to reform the court from countries like the u.k. in japan. it looked like they might do the right thing and kill the investigation. but last spring, the pretrial chamber unanimously rejected the prosecutor's request to open the investigation. but unfortunately, then in march, the appeals chamber overturned that sound judgment

and gave a green light to the investigation, eliminating constraints on the prosecutor's office and their ability to launch new best occasions of americans in the future. we will not stand by as our people are threatened by a kangaroo court, and indeed i have a message to close allies around the world, your people could be next. especially those from nato countries who fought terrorism in afghanistan alongside us. there all concerned about threat that this poses to israel. the icc is already threatening israel with an investigation of war crimes committed by its forces on the west bank and in the gaza strip. given israel's robust ability in the military system and a strong track record of investigating wrongdoing by its personnel, it is clear the icc is only putting israel in its crosshairs for nakedly political purposes. it is a mockery of justice. more than 300 numbers of congress my republicans and

democrats, sent me letters asking u.s. support israel in the face of this politicized attack. that is what the u.s. is dead set on doing and with good reason, they are a trusted and wonderful partner and a buttress of american security. they rogue court can intimidate our friend or any other ally into giving up its right of self-defense, that puts americans at risk as well. absent corrective action, we expect the icc will continue its present reckless course. i have laid out the courts process laws and to the danger it poses to americans and its allies, but we oppose the court also because it is ineffective and corrupt. in 18 years of operation, the court must have to buy nearly 1000 people, have secured only for convictions and they have spent over $1 billion. nonetheless, the judges recently brought suit against their own court, seeking a 26% pay raise from their tax-free annual salary. that is a quarter of a million

dollars u.s. dollars. this record of botched prosecutions has cast doubt on the courts ability to function at the most basic level and demonstrates a highly politicized nature of this institution. which brings me to the reason we are here today. the trump administration is taking the following actions. first, we are authorizing the imposition of economic sanctions against icc officials directly engaged in icc efforts to investigate u.s. personnel or allied personnel against that highlighted the state's consent. in against others who material support such officials and their activities. designations will be made on a case-by-case basis against specific individuals or entities. second, the u.s. is expanding visa restrictions for officials engaged in those same investigations. we are extending and expanding these restrictions to include their family members. gives us no joy to punish them,

but we cannot allow icc officials and their families to come to the u.s., to shop, travel and otherwise enjoy american freedoms as these same officials seek to prosecute the defender of those freedoms. i will close by saying this. never forget the american commitment to real justice and accountability, from the nuremberg and tokyo trials in world war ii, to the more recent yugoslavian tribunals, the u.s. is always sought to uphold good and punish people through international law and we will continue to do so. when our own people do wrong, we lawfully punish those individuals who tarnish the reputation of our great u.s. military and intelligence services. we hold our own accountable, better than the icc has done for the worst perpetrators of mass criminal atrocities. today, we stand for clarity, sovereignty, we stand for our citizens, and i want >> c-span's "washington

journal." every day, we are taking your calls live on the air. morning, weis discussed a fight over renaming military installations named for confederate generals. and dr. robert bollinger, professor of infectious diseases at johns hopkins university school of medicine will be on to talk about the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. then, republican governor asa hutchinson from arkansas talks about the recent rise in coronavirus cases in his estate and protests in the wake of george floyd's death. watch c-span's "washington 7:00 thisive at morning. the c-span on networks, at 11 --

hosted by the center for strategic and international studies and the bob schieffer college of communications live on c-span. house science, space, and technology committee on the impact of the pandemic on the fire service community. ofc-span 2, the d.c. court appeals hears oral arguments on the perjury case against michael flynn. and at 1:00, virtual town hall senator mark warner and representative gerald connolly. >> american history tv on c-span 3, exploiting the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern on the civil war, the 1863 richmond red riots, where hundreds of poor and working-class women protested inflation. and four films from the 1940's and 1950's profiling the auto,

restaurant industries impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. and the restoration of indian lands and a new era of self-government. exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span 3. >> next, a hearing on voting rights and election safety during the coronavirus pandemic. a house administration subcommittee held a virtual hearing with witnesses including the naacp legal defense and educational fund president sherrilyn ifill. topics included vote by mail expansion proposals, polling place safety, and the impact of covid-19 on presidential primaries in wisconsin and georgia. >> the subcommittee's --